ASVAP-5000 "Hawkmoth" shuttlecraft
Somehow, the rescue crew had managed to pinpoint the signal anyway.The Air-Space Vehicle for Any Purpose model 5000, a.k.a. the Hawkmoth, is an orbital shuttle design popular among the Midway Stars, where it's manufactured and used in several polities, most famously New Antaea. Capable of extended atmospheric operation in addition to reaching orbit, it can also transport a varied loadout of passengers and cargo. That allowed the Hawkmoth to find civilian uses, but its original purpose was emergency evac missions in combat areas, as reflected in the standard features. Hawkmoth shuttles are lightly armored, but come with active camouflage and a rapid-fire quad coilgun.
We were running down the road, out in the open, when a ghostly shape not unlike a hawk with its wings half-folded floated silently into view from behind the castle, floodlights scanning the ground. I raised my hands and flashed them a signal, ignoring the searing pain from the residual heat. Moments later they were pulling us aboard, and we were off while ever bigger clouds of smoke billowed out of the building's windows.
"They came to take me home," was all the explanation I had time for while we crossed the city, virtually unnoticeable thanks to the shuttle's optical cloak. The guards on the east wall weren't looking down as I passed through the rock. Far from any mana well now, my reserves were rapidly depleting, but that didn't matter anymore. As I picked up the children, banks of fog started rolling along the streets. A fog that still sparkled with residual magic. No wonder the guards hadn't been paying attention to us.
The shuttle commander didn't even protest as I told him to fly over the water.
I may never know what stories were born that day, but imagine you're leading your fleet of sleek ships, countless long cannons poking out of their gunports, to attack a helpless city from behind a screen of magical mist provided by your kingdom's mightiest wizards, when a silver dragon swoops down from the sky, belching fire and steel at your supposedly unstoppable assault force.
The first salvo out of the shuttle's quad coilguns ripped an enemy ship in two, and shredded the sails off another. As we banked over their battle line with a piercing wail from our siren -- a tactic nearly as old as aviation -- the gunner dialed down the power and took the rigging out of several more ships. Then the pilot rocked the thrusters, setting even more of them on fire as we screamed past. We turned for a second pass, and spotted little rings of smoke coming from the shore. The few damaged Nortarran frigates that were anchored in port were firing on the enemy, and even the broken fortress joined them with the handful of cannons that could reach.
We let them claim the victory for themselves as we headed north across the land.
Weapons & Armament
rapid-fire quad coilgun of variable power
Armor and defense
active optical cloak
Nickname
Hawkmoth
Rarity
Common
Complement / Crew
2: pilot/commander and gunner/navigator
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